Philly to name first youth poet laureate Monday

The Philadelphia Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/W2P5BT ) Mayor Michael Nutter on Monday will name 14-year-old Siduri Beckman as the city's first youth poet laureate. Beckman is a student at the city's prestigious Julia R. Masterman School.

The newspaper reports a committee selected two finalists. The final selection was made by the city's poet laureate, Sonia Sanchez.

Beckman says she's excited about the new gig. She'll be asked to develop an outreach plan to connect youth to poetry and will work with Sanchez, who became the city's first poet laureate in December 2011.

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Beckman says she thinks poetry can be used to help teens deal with the issues they face in their lives. She'll receive a $1,000 stipend toward her academic career.